How to Format an Ebook for KDP Without Vellum or a Mac

If you’re trying to publish on Amazon from a Windows or Linux computer, you’ve probably run into the same wall as everyone else. Ask how to format an ebook and the answer is almost always “use Vellum,” and Vellum only runs on a Mac.

Here’s the reassuring part: Amazon doesn’t care what software you used. KDP wants a clean, well-built EPUB, and you can make one on the computer you already have, without Vellum, without learning HTML, and without buying new hardware. This guide shows you how.

What KDP is actually looking for

KDP doesn’t check which tool made your book. It checks the file. It wants a book with a working table of contents, consistent headings, images that are actually present, and complete details such as the title, author and language. Get those fundamentals right and your EPUB will be accepted whatever made it.

That’s good news, because every one of those things comes from how you prepare and format the book, not from owning a particular computer.

If you need to publish this week

If you’re short on time, you can go from manuscript to upload in about an hour. Spend the first ten minutes tidying chapter headings in your manuscript. Spend fifteen importing it and applying a single consistent style. Take ten to check the table of contents and the order of your front and back matter, fifteen to preview the book on a Kindle-style screen and one other device, and the last ten to confirm your title, author and language before exporting.

That won’t give you the most carefully designed book in the world, but it will give you a clean, professional one that you can publish with confidence and refine later.

The workflow, step by step

1. Start with a tidy manuscript

Most formatting problems are created before formatting begins. Before importing, make every chapter heading use the same style, remove blank lines used to push text down the page, and check that your front and back matter sections are in the order you want. This takes a few minutes and prevents most of the quality-check errors authors run into later.

2. Import it into a formatter that standardises the structure

Bring your Word document into a dedicated formatting tool rather than uploading it to KDP as it is. A good tool turns your headings into proper chapters and gives the whole book a consistent structure underneath. If you’re working from an older EPUB, this step matters even more, because old files often carry leftover styling that causes problems. Libba runs in the browser on Windows and Linux and imports Word, Markdown and existing EPUB files.

3. Apply one style to the whole book

Choose a single style and apply it everywhere, rather than formatting chapter by chapter. Consistency is what makes a book look professional, and it’s also what keeps it displaying reliably across different Kindles and apps. A genre preset is the quickest way to get there.

4. Let the table of contents build itself

Generate the table of contents from your chapter headings, don’t type it by hand. That way every chapter is included, every link goes to the right place, and the contents stay accurate if you rename or reorder chapters later.

5. Preview, then check

Look at the book the way readers will, on Kindle-sized and phone-sized screens, and fix anything that looks off. Then do the technical check separately: open the exported file in Amazon’s free Kindle Previewer, and run it through EPUBCheck if you want extra certainty. A preview tells you how the book looks; the technical check tells you whether it’s built correctly.

6. Upload, and fix problems at the source

Upload the EPUB to KDP and use its online previewer before publishing. If KDP flags a problem, fix it in your source project and export a fresh file, rather than patching the uploaded EPUB by hand. Patches tend to come undone the next time you update the book.

Before you upload

A quick final check catches most avoidable failures. Make sure the title and author name in your file match what you enter on KDP exactly, that the table of contents works and the chapters are in the right order, that every image is present and in the right place, that your front and back matter are complete, and that the file you’re uploading was exported from your latest version, not an older copy.

The mistakes worth avoiding

The most common one is uploading a raw Word document and hoping Amazon’s conversion gets it right. It sometimes does, but the results are unpredictable, especially for headings and spacing. Others include using different heading levels for different chapters, reusing old EPUB files full of leftover formatting, and skipping the final checks because the preview looked fine.

If KDP does reject your file, Why Your EPUB Gets Rejected by KDP explains the usual causes and how to fix each one.

Publishing beyond Amazon

If you’re planning to sell on Kobo and Apple Books too, it’s worth knowing that each store checks files a little differently, and a file Amazon accepts can still be rejected elsewhere. Keeping one clean source project and exporting a fresh file for each store avoids most of the trouble. Why Your EPUB Gets Rejected by Kobo (But Not KDP) explains why.

Common questions

Can I upload straight from Word without a formatting tool? You can, and KDP will convert it. But the result is much less predictable than uploading a clean EPUB, particularly for longer or more complex books.

Do I need to learn HTML or CSS? No. For almost every novel and non-fiction book, a good formatting tool handles all of that for you.

Should I get the Kindle version right first? That’s a sensible approach. Make one clean, KDP-ready version, then export versions for the other stores from the same source.

You can publish a professional ebook on KDP without Vellum and without a Mac. For a more detailed walkthrough of every step, see How to Format an EPUB for Amazon KDP.